Rocks & Fossils

Check out our rock and fossil FAQ for smart collecting tips, information about some local rock formations, and advice about fossil eggs and meteorites.

“Hi.  My friend took this  pic on a beach here.  It is very large.  About 5ft by 5/6 ft.  It looks to hale a whale  vertebrae in it?”
Tamara, Santa barbara - February 5, 2024

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“Hi, I found this rock on the beach in Santa Barbara a few days after Hurricane Hilary. Just wondeting if this in an authentic artifact?  Thanks, Mike”
Mike, Santa Barbara - August 23, 2023

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“Good morning, I found a rock near where I live in Santa Barbara, and I polished it, please help identify what kind of rock it is. Thank you.”
Maria, Santa Barbara - May 2, 2023

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“Hello, I was kayaking in a northern MN mine pit and it's very unusual and as big as my hand and it's cracked in half but I have the two pieces. The inside almost looked like a giant jawbreaker cand...”
Laci, Saginaw, MN - July 25, 2022

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“Hi, My seven-year-old daughter has asked me many times, "Is this a fossil?', and sadly I am never able to answer. I have attached pics of three different rocks.  The first is from a beach in Ventur...”
Andy, Ventura - June 19, 2022

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“Hi Geologists - Out in the Santa Ynez Valley at the corner of Happy Canyon Rd. and Baseline Rd. in the streambead I found these very large rocks. They were too big to move (small boulders?). They ar...”
Robert, Santa Barbara - March 20, 2022

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“I was below the Shoreline Park on the mesa. In the rubble at the bottom of the shale bluffs a found several pieces of what appears to be marble with veins of other hard rock through it. Could it be ma...”
Robert, Santa Barbara city - February 4, 2022

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“I found some interesting Rocks that look like fossilized eggs but have no ideas to what they are. Size is approximately that of an A4 sized paper. I have uploaded pictures where found thereof here......”
Anthony, Tanzania - January 9, 2022

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“I have read about the notably dark sedimentary layer within the Beechers Bay Formation at Arlington Springs Canyon at Santa Rosa Island. According to Kennett et al., the nanodiamonds found in this lay...”
Susie, Santa Barbara - September 15, 2021

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“Can a mineral such as jasper which is composed mostly of Si, morph into something that is composed mostly of Ca?”
Ken, Ventura - March 31, 2021

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